BJP forcing Muslims to take up arms: Yasin Malik

Srinagar: In the aftermath of protests
against him by BJP activists during his visit to Ajmer last
week, JKLF chief Yasin Malik on Monday alleged that the national
opposition party was forcing Muslims in the country to resort
to arms.

Giving details of the blasts at Muslim shrines and
mosques in the country, Malik alleged that BJP was "pushing
the Muslims of India towards resorting to arms".

He also said that by harassing Kashmiri people and
leadership outside Kashmir, the BJP was pushing the youth of
the state to pick up the gun.

Criticising the party for resorting to "goon culture", he
alleged that it wanted to "set the entire sub-continent on
fire".

"Since BJP lost power (at the Centre), they want to set
afire the entire sub-continent", Malik told reporters at
his party headquarters at Maisuma in Srinagar.

The former militant said during their tenure in power at
the Centre, BJP released the Hurriyat leadership from Jodhpur
jail and held talks with the united Hurriyat Conference
followed by parleys with the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat and later
with militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.

"The BJP claims to be nationalist but when we see their
role during India`s freedom struggle, they were informers of
the British and even killed Mahatma Gandhi, who won freedom
for India", he said.

Insisting that "proper space" is required for the
"peaceful struggle of Kashmiri people," Malik said, "We have
made a transition from armed struggle to peaceful struggle and
this transition is unilateral. We ask the Indian civil society
to ensure that space is provided to safeguard this peaceful
struggle," he said.

In response to Srinagar city police chief`s recent
allegation that the protesters in last year`s summer unrest
were "drug addicts", Malik said, "The Kashmir issue is 63
years and four generations old. Can this issue be sustained by
drug addicts and those who have personnel problems?".

On a question about the political unrest in Egypt, Malik
said there was no scope for Egypt`s comparison with Kashmir as
the army in the Arab country had "a strong sense of belonging
and no Egyptian was killed by them".

"However, there is a lesson for the people of Kashmir
from the Egyptian revolution that non-violent democratic
movements have many takers across the world", he said.